5 Tips For Establishing a Rhythm On the Mound

Josh BoggsPitching ArticlesLeave a Comment on 5 Tips For Establishing a Rhythm On the Mound
By Mental Basics of Baseball Have you ever been on the mound and found yourself in a rhythm where your pumping the zone full of strikes and everything seems to be going your way? If pitchers could find this “rhythm” or “zone” more often wouldn’t that be great?

 Well there are a few things you can do to find your rhythm more often.

THROW STRIKE 1

The first component of finding your rhythm is strike 1. You’ve got to get ahead in the count. It’s hard to find a rhythm if your constantly behind and trying to battle back into an advantageous count. Make it a point before each new batter to focus on the idea of throwing strike 1.

 WORK DELIGENTLY

The next piece of the puzzle is to work diligently. I don’t want you to think “fast”, but rather “faster’. Be intentional after each pitch-whether it was good or bad- to get the ball back from the catcher, toe the rubber, get your signal and go back to work. I see a lot of young pitchers take way too much time in between each pitch. They get the ball, rub it down, take off their cap and wipe their forehead, walk around behind the mound, or do a variety of other things-and then toe the rubber and start over. read more

How We Move

Josh BoggsTraining Articles1 Comment on How We Move

Whether it’s rolling out of bed in the morning, or rolling a double play, movement is something most of us take for granted. But, in my opinion, improving our understanding of how movement is generated is absolutely vital for improving our abilities as coaches (or athletes). This article is by no means the definitive article on pitching mechanics — it is simply a small step towards improving motor control literacy in the pitching community.

A Brief History of Motor Control: How Does Movement Come to Be? read more

Off-season Workouts: Where Are You?

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By Alex Shapiro

It is December and most high school baseball programs are kicking off their off-season workouts while some may be well underway. Off-season workouts are critical in determining how prepared a player is for the season as we all know. Workouts may be consist of hitting the weight room, the track, or could include open hitting sessions for players, among several other things that benefit a team and its players. However, off-season workouts are not mandatory. I struggle with the word mandatory in regards to off-season workouts as a coach, as I am sure some of you out there reading this article do the same. We, as coaches, probably scratch our head from time to time wondering where some guys are when they are not showing up and perhaps even why. I get it—some players have jobs, some play other sports, and some do things on their own, which is great, no doubt about that. Some things come up from time to time like doctor’s appointments or tutoring sessions, and some just do not show up at all. But, there are some things players need to know about off-season workouts and why their attendance is in fact mandatory. read more

Mound Management

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Written by Alan Jaeger

Mound Management: In Game Strategies for Pitchers and Hitters

Process Oriented: To be consumed by your current action independent of the consequences of your action

The “Mental Game” may be a rather broad topic, but ultimately, it can be broken down into two fundamental categories: “Game Management” and “Mental Practice”.

In a recent Collegiate Baseball article entitled “Mental Practice Plans” (January, 2012), I specifically addressed the importance of implementing Mental Practice on a DAILY basis as part of any player or coach’s Practice Plan.  Though I still feel that Mental Practice (e.g. Relaxation, Visualization, Meditation) is where the rubber hit’s the road for a players Mental Game development, how players strategically “Manage” their mental approach in “Game situations” is also paramount to a players performance between the lines. read more